Congressman Proposes Bill to Require Contract-Free Phones

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has proposed a sweeping bill to alter the terms on which customers purchase mobile phones. The "Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act of 2008" recognizes that wireless service has become a replacement for traditional phone service for millions of Americans and seeks to require broader disclosure of fees and terms, require plans with no early termination fee, proration of plans that do have termination fees, offer a contract-free non-subsidized phone and a host of other remedies that seek to address practices in the mobile phone industry.